Best March Madness Parlay Bet Today: Illinois and Alabama NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Spread Picks at +1228 odds

The Final Four is just 40 minutes away for the Elite Eight participants.

Who will punch their ticket on Saturday? And more importantly for betting purposes, how will the spread and over/under turn out?

The lines have been unveiled, and here are the picks for the Alabama-Clemson and Illinois-UConn Elite Eight matchups. 

By combining the spread and scoring total wagers into a parlay, the payout odds are +1228 at Caesars sportsbook, though just one wrong pick and the parlay will be scuttled.

Spread bets: Illinois +8.5 vs. UConn; Alabama -3 vs. Clemson
Scoring total bets: Illinois-UConn over 155; Alabama-Clemson under 164.5 points
Parlay odds: +1228 odds at Caesars

Leg 1: Illinois +8.5 vs. UConn

• Yes, Connecticut has been a juggernaut in this NCAA Tournament and last year, but Illinois is the best team it has faced
• Illinois guard Terrence Johnson, Jr. is averaging 31.8 points per game on 55.8% shooting over his past five outings
• The Fighting Illini have the No. 2-ranked offense in college basketball and are top-10 overall, which should help them hang with the No. 1 overall seed Huskies

Leg 2: Illinois-UConn over 155 points

• Connecticut and Illinois have the top-two most efficient offenses in the country, per KenPom
• The Huskies average 81.6 points per game while Illinois averages 84.2 points per game
• UConn has a stingy defense and held San Diego State to 36% shooting in the last round, but Illinois is a better offensive team and should knock down some shots

Leg 3: Alabama -3 vs. Clemson

• North Carolina only turned over the ball seven times against the Crimson Tide on Thursday and Alabama still pulled the upset
• Clemson is coming off a big win against Arizona but is the second-lowest-rated team remaining in the field, per KenPom
• If this game is close at the end, Alabama should be able to ice it with free throws and secure a cover of the spread

Leg 4: Alabama-Clemson under 164.5 points

• Clemson held Arizona to 37.3% shooting from the field on Thursday and 5-of-28 from 3
• The Tigers will look to slow the game down to keep the Crimson Tide from getting easy buckets in transition
• Alabama leads the country in scoring at 90.1 points per game but has only averaged 80.5 in its past two games against Grand Canyon and North Carolina